Recent Press —

Attracting people from near and far, the homemade food and drinks served are “in rhythm with the seasons,” and include such delights as a lamb tagine marinated with rosepetal harissa and couscous with dried apricots; poached pears sparked with juniper and star anise; zucchini bread topped with crème fraiche composed of buttermilk and heavy cream as well as little-known vegetables like knotweed and nettles cooked in a variety of ways. Drinks range from spiced cider to elixir from locally foraged elderberry.

We sampled stewed young shoots of Japanese knotweed and discovered even that most despised, invasive cousin to rhubarb has at least one redeeming quality: it can be used to treat Lyme disease. In just six hours, I had touched and tasted anew the familiar roots, shoots, bark, and leaves I had known since childhood.

— Willow Baum - And North

The hives Hermant set up on her roof – and the pollinator friendly herb and edibles gardens she’s planted in the heart of Narrowsburg – allow visitors and locals alike to interact with the bees. “It’s wonderful when people tell me they saw the honey bees at the post office’s flowerbed cared for by the Narrowsburg Beautification Group and at the Tusten Heritage Community Garden, one of my permaculture projects for the public. It means they’re paying attention!

“Step by step, people are becoming more aware of what so many of us here are doing, that is practicing, demonstrating and sharing the ethics of permaculture: Care of the earth. Care of people. Fair Share (the return of surplus time, energy and money to the cause of bettering the earth and its people).”

“Being a beekeeper feels like a privilege,” she adds. “It’s humbling to do my weekly check of the hives and observe their life rhythms. They’re deeply inspiring creatures.”